Love Has No Agenda

“It(love) does not insist on its own way” I Corinthians 13:5 ESV

Love is one of those words that has become cheaper through cultural opinion. Ask for a definition, and you will probably receive a multitude of answers. In today’s culture, it means different things for different folks.

For teenagers, it is the emotional tie that binds two people together until the feeling goes away. For newlyweds, it is the blindness that denies the imperfections of the other. For highly testosterone husbands, it is the words for a sexual encounter. For manipulative wives, it is the means to get what they may want.

Yet Paul writes that love is not something we get, but give.

Jesus gives us the perfect example of what love means in a very practical everyday way. To sacrifice the self for the sake of the other is love demonstrated. It is giving the self for the sake of others. It is not giving so others may agree with you. It is not giving so others do something for you. It is not giving so you may benefit from it at all. In fact, it may hurt to give. It may cost you your job. It may cost you a relationship. It may cost you your life.

Your response simply measures the love you have to give. It is what Jesus did for us. He set the example. He chose to empty his eternal habitat so he could walk among us. He gave himself as a sacrifice, so we can enter his eternal home.

We can either love accordingly or deny what it truly means from his context. So the next time you let someone know you love them, are you truly willing to sacrifice your time, money, and life for them without any expectations in return? Whatever your response, you now know what God knows about us. And even knowing this, He still unconditionally loves you and me.

He loves us whether or not we choose to follow him. Yes he wants us to respond to him in a favorable way. Yet if we do not, he still loves us. We may suffer the consequences of our rebellious attitude. Yet our response doesn’t stop Him from loving us. We may suffer from our stupidity. But He remains steadfast in His love for us. Isn’t that the Christ-like love we need to display?